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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-12-23, Page 7Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - Page 7 • • Community shows overwhelming support for bureau To the Editor; As managers of the Goderich Christ- mas Bureau, we would like to acknowl- edge the generosity of this wonderful community. The donations of money, food, clothing and toys were over- whelming. We would like to thank our many, many volunteers of all ages from chil- dren, to teens, right through to our very special Agnes. Every helpful hand was appreciated and contributed to the suc- Letters opinion cess of the Bureau. The week of sorting saw our volun- teers coming and going and proved that many hands do make light work. We were able to keep on schedule during distribution week due to the commit- ment of many more special volun- teers. Our shoppers did an outstand- ing job purchasing required clothing for our recipient families. Special recognition to the GDCI Student Council for .coordinating the community food drive allowing each of our families to receive a well - stocked food basket topped off with special treats courtesy of the generous donation from Harry and Ila Worsell. Thank you to the. staff of North Street United Church for their pa - Grateful to be home with helping hands To the Editor; I am recovering from heart operations, a stroke and pneumonia. I am writing to praise the attention received at home now after seven months in hospitals. The phone and doorbell never stop ringing. It is very unexpected and welcome. The St. Elizabeth Health- care Centre, Dynamic Ther- apy solutions, Heart and Stroke Foundation, plus others, including highly - skilled nurses who are only a phone call away. Last, but not least, the local Legion Branch 109 have also contributed to my wellbeing and recovery. It is very gratifying to know how someof our tax dollars are being spent. Thank you, thank you all. We are surely, truly blessed. Best wishes Colin MacMillan tience and "for going the extra mile" as we added to their already busy work- load. To The Beach, thanks for relaying information through community Cal- endar as the response we received was beneficial. To the Signal -Star and Gerard Crec- es, thanks for sharing our project with our community through letters, pictures and articles. Your support is greatly ap- preciated. Congratulations and thanks again to all our volunteers on a job well done. The true meaning of Christmas has never been so well expressed. Sincerely Karen Kirk and Barbara Anne Ottewell Bureau Managers, Goderich Thomas shares special gift of love this Christmas Gift giving at Christmas used to be so simple. As a kid growing up in Dain City I admired the efficiency and precision with which the Hilton boys handled the giving of Christmas gifts. Malcolm gave Sid a ten dollar gift certificate to David's Men's Wear in Welland, Ontario. Sid gave Tom a ten dollar gift certificate to David's Men's Wear. And Tom gave Malcolm a ten dollar gift certificate to David's Men's Wear. In the grand scheme of exchang- ing Christmas presents, the generosity of brotherhood was squared. They made the exchange sitting at the kitchen table together, like a poker game, to make sure nobody had slipped in a five dollar gift certificate to Da- vid's Men's Wear. This had been tried once and a moderate amount of blood had been spilled. I believe the a Hilton boys invented the modern gift card. I've taken that time-honoured Dain City tradition and adopted it to the gift exchange I have with my brother-in- law Danny who is technically not my brother-in-law but. hey, Christmas is not the season to settle old scores. So for several Christmases, Danny and I have exchanged gifts. Okay, shirts. Danny usually gets me a snazzy, striped, button-down number.that I can wear with' a blazer and I normally get him an extra -large, open -collar, heavy cotton shirt that he can wear with jeans. However, in my new-found spirit of Christmas even our traditional shirt swap has become far too commercial for me. This year, with my own uncalloused hands I made a Christmas gift for Danny. Forget the saving of money, I don't think the time and thought that goes into creating something special for. a special friend can ever be matched by anything that comes over the counter. First I laid out all the materi- als I would need for my project •starting with the first aid kit. Although I enjoy the satisfaction of fixing and cre- ating things around the house, I must admit I'm not very good at it. Currently I have a broken toe from stacking fire- wood and the hair on both my forearms is just now starting to grow back after a summer of barbecuing. If 1 even men- tioned I was thinking of purchasing a buzz saw, friends and family would or- ganize an intervention. On the table, I assembled three empty tins which previously contained shrimp, tuna and smoked oysters. The sides of the shrimp tin were too tall to allow the head of the hammer to hit the bottom, so I discarded it. The square, smoked oyster tin simply lacked the contoured aesthetics required for an object d'arte that would likely ,be displayed in a liv- ing room or den. The 'squat tuna tin was perfect. I whacked a 1" roofing nail through the bottom of the tin and through the 1/2" All the World's A Circus... square of 6" by 8" plywood underneath. Then I turned it over and without destabilizing the integrity of the two-piece of bond, I crushed the end of the nail that was sticking out of the wood. Voila. In less than four minutes and incurring no injuries what- soever I created the perfect Christmas gift for my brother- in-law. It's a little tippy be- cause of the bent nail under- neath which I think, gives it character. I was going to paint it but the shine of the metal contrasted nicely with the weave of natural wood. Raw, it symbolizes the symbiotic relationship between smelted minerals and nature's bounty of the wood. The card reads: "Merry Christmas Dan. I made this gift for you especially and exclusively with my own hands. May you enjoy it for many years to come. I have never believed in the "it is better to give than to receive" line until this moment. I love you, man." And on the other side of the card: "Oh yeah, it's an ashtray. Give up smoking cigars? Okay, it's a peanut presenter. Allergic to peanuts? Think potpourri. You see what just happened there? While Danny and I were, playing our traditional game of Christmas Hold'em, he took his eye off the table. With my shirt gift wrapped and secured under the tree, Danny looked out the window and said," I think we're going to have a white Christmas, Bill." That's when I slipped him the five dollar gift card. Or, to be more precise, the 99¢ tin of tuna mounted on a board. Plus I got to have the tuna in a sand- wich with a beer as a kind of reward after I finished making his gift. You see, what actually happened there was that this Christmas I won the gift swap big time. And I know Danny. Next year, I'll win the exchange again. I've already set aside a smaller tin, the kind pate comes in. Another board, whack goes the roofing nail and presto — it's a cuf- flink holder. No, it'll be Christmas 2011 before, Danny catches on and he gives me an empty margarine tub with holes punched in the top and the words "Bait Box" written on the side with a black Magic Marker. And you know what I'll give Danny for Christmas that year? A very expen- sive flannel shirt. You see it's not about the money and it'g not that I necessarily hate Christ- mas. It's just that I hate being around happy people at Christmas. But to you and your loved ones at this precious time of year, I offer my ... no, I can't do it. Seriously, if you drink don't drive and if you drive try and stay out of the ditch or, well, whatever. Hug a pet or pat a kid on the head but not too hard or don't fight over, that deli- cious little hunk of fat that hangs over the turkey's bum. Merry Christmas.